After over a year of trying different approaches for making composite pressure vessels, we've finally found a design that works. This afternoon we did a hydrotest of the latest iteration. The test reached 1500 psi and held for ten minutes until we released pressure. This design used our awesome composite liner and a pin-retained bulkhead. In the next week we'll be scaling this design up to a four-inch size that can be hydrotested then fired with a single grain from the Silver Spur 2B O motor.

This is a huge thrill for us. We've tried so many other ideas that didn't work; this is a big step forward and enables giant leaps in the performance of our systems. Thanks to all the RPL members past and present who helped us find a winning design.

After recovering from Balls and finally unloading the vehicles from the launch, we are regrouping and beginning to work on several projects. We had a lab cleanup meeting and helped move Ryan's PhD experiment out of the lab space, opening up a whole corner for us to build another table and use for workspace. We are also excited to begin integrating some of the USC Microsat project back into our lab space; hopefully we will be able to expand our avionics infrastructure even more with their help.

On the construction side of things, Ian is currently finishing up the systems for the hybrid static test, and we are also preparing a LOX/ethanol biprop for a static test. And finally, we have begun a new lecture series (RTH 105, every Friday at 3 PM) covering a series of topics that are important for overall vehicle integration in the lab. The goal of the lectures is to give everyone the tools necessary to construct their own flight vehicle, from the ground up, and fly them successfully -- and so, of course, the homework is to build parts of a rocket. The final exam is to see if they fly and come back.

We've also begun work on some new simulation software to allow us to secure a final design for our next big project. Right now, the (very) rough sketch is a 6" booster and a 4.5" sustainer, with a target altitude of around 350,000 feet. Stay posted for updates on that as they come along. Suffice to say, we've been in contact with some branches of the FAA we have never talked to before, in order to secure flight approvals. It's quite the adventure.

In summary, our primary goals for the rest of the semester are twofold: (1) prepare the lab for new technologies that we may investigate further a few years down the line, and (2) continue to develop and strengthen existing technologies which have already proven successful, to make them perform to an even higher standard.

Wow, that sounds like a corporate mission statement. Eugh. I should have just downloaded one from here.

Silver Spur v2B:



Turbo Encabulator:

We had a spectacular time at Balls. Thanks to the hard work of all 25 RPLers who attended, we managed to get two airframes into the sky and return some valuable performance data on our airframes, while having an awesome time doing it. Long story short, both motors performed perfectly, including the brand new redesign of the 4.5" O3730 from last year's Silver Spur attempt. Both rockets ascended straight for most of the burn, and both rockets came apart about a second before burnout, for different reasons. We're still working on reconstructing the last few seconds of each rocket's life, but we think we have a pretty good idea of what happened.

Overall, though, it was a tremendously positive experience, as always. Our hats are off to Mark, Robin, Paul, Waysie, and the whole AHPRA crew for putting together a fabulous launch year after year. I'm extremely grateful to the entire lab for making this such an awesome experience. We put together and flew a minimum diameter O and a minimum diameter P in a little over four weeks, from scratch. Thanks, guys. We couldn't have done it without you.

Dear Lab,

I want to thank everyone for a truly incredible launch this weekend. The amount of work we did in such a short time is commendable and you should all feel very proud.

Although the flights weren't perfect, the two motors performed exactly as we designed. Even as we were standing over the carcass of our vehicles, people were coming up to us and congratulating us on our motors. Several people called these flights the most impressive and most successful university projects that they've ever seen fly at Black Rock.

We will meet as usual at 3:00 pm on Friday in Laufer Library for a full debrief from the launch followed by a quick lab cleanup session then a BBQ at my house. In the meantime I would like everyone to prepare a list of discussion points for the Friday meeting. I'm very interested to know all your ideas about what worked well and what we need to do differently in the future. One of the biggest challenges with a group like our rocket lab is actually applying what we've learned from our mistakes. This process starts with your insight so come on Friday ready to discuss.

Finally, I'd like to get everyone's pictures from the launch so we can present them at the Friday meeting and post them on the website. Please burn your photos onto a disk and leave them in the top drawer of the desk in the lab by this Thursday.

Good luck to everyone on midterms this week.

Flight On!

-Ian